


Liquid Courage

by SomeGoodSheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bartender!Shiro, Drunken Flirting, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Pidge hates it, and kind, art student!keith, it starts a bit sad and then goes happy, shiro is sweet, there's a mention of the word fuck twice if anyone's wondering about the rating, they flirt without alcohol too, though not only, waitress!pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 21:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18978919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeGoodSheith/pseuds/SomeGoodSheith
Summary: After his date doesn't show up, Keith doesn't know what to think. It that really it? It his heart going to stay empty forever?He soon finds out that the answer isnowhen he meets a certain sweet bartender.





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my friends [navi](https://twitter.com/Koukaishidesu) [meiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelMeikoMeiLing) and [oli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidkickflip) for helping with this fic 💖 it was really fun to work on!

When Keith arrived at _Altea - Restaurant and Bar_ , he felt rather good. He might be a bit early for his date, but he didn't mind a small wait. 

Lately, or rather,  _ regularly _ , Keith had difficulty finding anyone interesting, attractive or nice enough to consider dating. He considered himself rather boring, as well; he was a simple art student with an unexplained love for designing spaceships and galaxy backgrounds. Beside his studies and work, he didn't do much but binge-watch sci-fi movies or TV shows every now and again, draw on every piece of paper that he could find and maintain his meals and sleep according to how much time was left between all the rest, which wasn't much. 

His past, well - it would only make people sorry for him, and he  _ definitely  _ didn't want that. 

However, he had talked to his date for hours on end on his phone for the last few weeks, and when the other told him he knew a nice place in the center of the city, they decided to meet. 

It's been months since Keith had had a connection with someone - a  _ good _ connection, that is, beyond several friends and dozens of mutual haters - even more when that connection was immediate, like putting the right piece of the puzzle in its place. 

With his date on his way, this lonesome time might be over. 

He found himself looking at his phone's digital clock more times than he should. Time moved slower that way, but at least he knew it will be worth it. 

Or so he thought. 

After the first ten minutes in which his date didn't show up, he told himself it's fine.  _ He's probably just late a bit _ , he thought. He sent him a message, a friendly question of where he was. He didn't get an answer, but he was patient. 

One of the workers in the restaurant asked him if he wanted to order anything, but Keith declined, saying he was waiting for someone before that. 

Twenty more minutes passed, with no response. Keith sent another text, this time in a more worried tone. 

A waitress came to ask him if everything was alright, to which he responded with a fake smile and a nod.  _ He'll show up any minute now.  _

Half an hour turned into forty minutes, and Keith didn't know what to think. Was he being avoided and rejected, or was his date in some sort of trouble? 

It was then when he decided to call. When the only answer was voicemail, he went online, to see if at least he could find his date's whereabouts on the dating app. 

Keith had wondered, in that time he knew his date, why had he never shared his social media info. Deciding to put an end to the mystery, in a quick search in one of the bigger sites out there on the internet, he found him with no real difficulty. 

His wonder ceased as soon as he did. 

His date's social media was nothing like he tried to portrait on the dating app. Music lover? Nature wanderer? A vegetarian that looks for a “green” job? They were complete lies, all of them. The man he thought his date was had never existed outside of the app. His profile was filled with various photos that showed him to be a corporation worker that likes to party and smoke; the most recent of them were posted in the past hour. 

Not only that, but those very photos featured the man embracing and kissing another woman. 

Christ. 

Not a vibe went in Keith's body that wasn't  _ angry _ . The man he thought would finally do some good to his empty heart had proved to be a shameless liar, that made him spend the last forty five minutes worried for nothing. 

_ Fuck that _ . 

He looked at the screen of his mobile phone, and unapologetically wrote one last message. 

**I see you're having fun. Don't bother contacting me again.**

After blocking the other man on both social media and on the app, he found the supposed girlfriend, and decided to send her a fair warning as well. 

Keith put his phone on the table and took a deep breath. A curse escaped his lips along with a long sigh; he covered his eyes with his hands, slowly rubbing them, as if trying to wake up from a dream. 

God. How could he be so stupid? How could he trust someone like that, when the risks were so obvious? 

After he spent a good few minutes dwelling on the matter, he decided it was finally time for a drink. Luckily, he sat exactly by the bar, and the bartender didn't seem to be busy. 

“Excuse me, can I have… anything. Any drink of your choosing.”

The bartender looked at him with a handsome smile and nodded. “You look like you need something rather strong,” he hummed, taking a few ingredients to prepare his customer his drink. “You sat here for a pretty long time. Is everything okay?”

Keith sighed again. He wasn't sure if he wanted to open up in front of a stranger again. He probably shouldn't. “Just some… stupid guy.”

“A date that bailed on you?” the bartender asked in an apologetic gaze. 

“... Yeah,” he said, not sure how the man knew - but maybe he saw enough people to recognize their problems when they were alone in a place like this and ended up asking for a drink. 

“Sorry about that, man. That sucks,” he said sympathetically. “I never understood people who do that.”

All Keith could do was nod. He didn't feel like talking. If he could, he would have hit something, just to let his anger out. 

Within minutes, the drink was ready. The bartender went out from behind the counter and put it in front of his customer. “I'll be right back,” he hummed, and soon disappeared into the other side of the restaurant. 

The cocktail was in a special purple color that reminded Keith of the night sky outside of his father's home in the desert. He stared at it for a few seconds, taking its nostalgic color in, before trying to taste it. 

It was incredible. 

As a result, he decided to drink it slowly and enjoy its savory taste. He could taste berries, vodka and some other sweet and sour flavors that touched his tongue each in their turn. The shredded ice that peeked from within the dark liquid reminded him of the a starry night. At least something that evening was rather enjoyable.

He continued on drinking and staring at the cocktail, as the bartender came back with a tray of food from the kitchen. “Here. I saw that you didn't eat the entire time you were here, so I thought it'd be better not to drink this entire thing on an empty stomach. I hope you like it - it's gnocchi with cream, mushrooms and parmesan. You're not allergic to either of those, right? Or vegan or something…” 

Keith looked at him with wide, surprised eye. His face suddenly felt so hot. “N-no, I - I'm not. Um. I didn't order this, I can't -”

“It's on the house. Please, enjoy your meal. And by the way - I love your pins,” the bartender said, referring to Keith's two enamel pins that he had each on another side of his red jeans jacket's collar: a small planet with a " _ give me space _ " ring, and the  _ Nasa _ logo. Before a reaction could be made, he walked back to his position behind the counter. 

Keith sat there for a few moments, completely stunned. Just ten minutes ago, a stranger completely misled him, and now, another stranger is being so nice? This evening couldn't be odder. 

As much as he wanted to keep on declining, he really  _ was _ hungry, and the food smelt delicious. With a cautious raise of his fork, he began eating slowly, yet gradually ate faster. After the portion was completely empty, he felt much better, and resumed on drinking the galactic cocktail. 

He didn't plan on staying much longer. The place began to get filled with more people - couples, groups of friends or just families - and he suddenly felt that he didn't quite fit into the scenery any longer. 

With a sigh, he was about to ask for one of the waiters to give him the check, yet someone suddenly took the seat right in front of him. 

The bartender. Keith was shocked for a moment, but he wasn't as bothered as he thought he would be, considering his evening. 

“How was the meal?” the other asked, making himself comfortable. 

“It was great… thank you. But I've been meaning to ask… why did you do this for me? You don't even know me…” 

The stranger shrugged, a smile slipping through. “You just looked like you needed that.”

“Food and alcohol?” Keith laughed. 

“Kindness,” he replied, his tone soft yet serious. “My name is Shiro, but the way.” He extended his arm for a shake. 

“Keith,” he did the same, and squeezed his fingers around the bigger ones. He didn't notice this before, but that arm that he shook was a metal prosthetic. He didn't say anything, however; he didn't want to be rude. 

“Keith,” Shiro repeated, as if to taste it on his tongue. “That's a pretty name. Do you like forests?”

“I guess? Why?”

“Because that's what your name means. 'Large woods' or 'forest'.”

Keith chuckled. “If you say so… ‘white’”. 

Shiro laughed as well. “Shiro is short for Shirogane.”

“Silver, then… you show-off.”

"You know the Japanese words and you say  _ I'm _ the show-off, hm?" Still chuckling, the bartender's eyes moved to Keith's pins again. "You like space, too?" 

"Yeah. Ever since I was a kid. My main work in art class is galaxy and spaceships." 

"Really? I love space too! I study astrophysics. Do you have pictures of your art? If - if you don't mind me asking." 

The art student blushed and nodded. He didn't really show his artwork to anyone but his teacher or the class (and that was just because he had to), but Shiro did look like he was genuinely curious. Biting his lip, he presented his phone to the man before him, his eyes wandering on and off his sight. Yet the more Shiro saw, the more impressed he seemed, and the embarrassment only grew, but with it - something a bit more. 

"That's incredible, Keith. Your art is so… precise. I can recognize each and every part of the spaceship. And the galaxy - you can see the brushstrokes but it still looks so real. That's amazing."

Keith's face couldn't have been redder. No one had spoken on his art in such a way, not even his teacher. Looking down again, he could feel that if he would get any hotter, his, ears will fall off. 

A soft, tiny  _ thank you _ left his lips, and Shiro's growing smile wasn't helping. When the bartender handed him back his phone, their fingers touched, and the feeling was electrifying. 

If Keith had thought that he had an immediate connection with his abandoned date - that was  _ nothing _ compared to the man that now sat in front of him. From that moment, they kept on talking about themselves and their interests, and their conversation was so fluent that the time that went by seemed to  _ fly _ . Keith had never felt so comfortable speaking up his mind in front of someone, even more so this quickly, and this time, it wasn't even a stranger that hid behind the phone screen. It was a living, physical human being, that seemed to be too kind to be dishonest. Or at least, so he hoped. He just couldn't take his chances again. 

“How do I know that anything you're telling me is true?” he challenged, crossing his arms, yet his position on the seat was relaxed. 

“I guess you won't,” Shiro replied mysteriously. “You'll just have to trust me.”

Before Keith could protest on that, a hand tapped on Shiro's broad shoulder, bringing the two to look up at the waitress that stood with an entertained smile. “Alright, loser, time to get back to work. Allura gave you your break but it was over half an hour ago and - wait a minute,  _ Keith _ ?”

“Pidge,” he chuckled, yet looked surprised as well. “You work here?”

“Yeah! Wait, weren't you supposed to be on a date?"

"Um… yeah. But um - they never showed up, so..."

"What? Why? What an asshole!" 

"It's fine, Pidge, I'll be fine. Please don't do anything, okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't do anything  _ drastic _ ."

"Pidge."

"So how do you know Shiro?” she changed the subject. 

Keith sighed, but decided to let it go. “... Just from tonight. Made me a drink and gave me some gnocchi.”

Pidge snorted. “ _ This  _ Is the cute guy you wanted to cheer up because he looked sad and heartbroken?”

“Pidge!” Shiro exclaimed, totally embarrassed. 

“I really looked that miserable, huh…” Keith murmured. “But it's okay. It was really nice of you to do that. I actually wanted to order the check for -”

“No, you don't need to. Both the food and the drink are on me. It's okay.” Shiro insisted. 

“Are you joking? I can't just not pay anything, it's your job…”

“It's fine, really.”

“Let me at least leave you some tip.”

“Keith.”

“I'm doing it.”

“Let me propose this, then. You can come back tomorrow and pay me then.”

“Why would I come back tomorrow if I can just pay now?” 

“Isn't it obvious? So he can see you again,” Pidge finally intervened, her voice annoyed by the clearly very flirtatious conversation. The two looked at her, stunned and completely red, and Pidge couldn't help but count that as a small win. “I'll tell Allura that Lance and I will cover your shift for the rest of the night. Don't worry about work.”

“What? Really?” Shiro looked up at her from his seat. 

“Yes, really. Don't worry about it.” She tapped both of her friends’ shoulders and turned to walk away. “Talk to you guys later.”

The two men looked at each other, and then down at the table, chuckling with embarrassment. 

“Are you sure you don't want any money today? You did your job. You deserve every penny.” 

“Oh, stop that. I said you don't need to.”

“Because you want to see me.”

Shiro looked at Keith then, causing his eyes shining in what seemed to be almost-purple. “Yeah.”

“Why? You don't even know me. We just met like… half an hour ago."

“I know it's hard to put your faith in someone you only just met, but… I'm nothing like that man on your phone. The only thing I can do to prove that is…”

Keith kept on looking. “What?”

Shiro's blush flourished further on his cheek. “Take you to a date.”

The other bit his lip. He wasn't sure how to react to such a proposal, especially after what happened tonight. 

There was, however, a big difference between Shiro and his long-abandoned date. Keith could see it - from the fact that they have met face to face, to the way he spoke and acted. 

Filling his heart with something as significant as another person was something he wanted for a long time. Closing up again will only get him back to square one - the very place he tried to get out of. 

“Alright,” he said. 

“W - really?” Shiro smiled. 

“Yeah,” he smirked, and picked his hand up to order them some more drinks from Pidge. He saw Shiro's reaction and chuckled. “Well, we're already here. You have the rest of the night to yourself. I don't see any reason to delay it.”

Shiro seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. “Alright. Why not?”

The road from there to the rest of the night was so fast, Keith couldn't quite believe it. It felt as if only a moment ago he was sitting there alone, anxiously waiting for a man that would never show up, with the minutes passing so slowly that each of them felt like it was an entire hour; yet now, talking, drinking and laughing with the bartender got him so distracted, that the next time he looked at his phone, he noticed the night turned into early morning quite a while ago.  _ 3:45AM  _ and he wasn't even tired. 

"What are you thinking about?" Shiro giggled. His cheeks were flushed, yet this time, it wasn't because of embarrassment. 

"That it's almost four o'clock and I didn't even notice."

"Oh shit, it is?" 

"Yes, it is," Pidge walked towards them, a tired smirk on her face. "And for your information, I  _ did _ notice, and you guys were gross the entire night."

"What? No we weren't!" Keith protested. 

"Oh yeah? So what's that look Shiro has on his face as we speak?" 

Shiro blushed and looked down. "Okay Pidge, we got your point, that's enough." 

"I'm just kidding! I'm actually happy for you. You guys look like you really enjoy your time together. That's a good start, right?" 

"Yeah," Keith found himself saying in full confidence. He eyed Shiro's greyish irises, and for the first time in a long time, felt that the statement was mutual. 

"Definitely," Shiro nodded. 

"Great. Now pay and get out, we need to close this part of the restaurant."

"What? But I told Keith not to pay."

"I didn't tell him anything. And the discount you've got as a worker here doesn't really cover those drinks."

"You're mean just like your brother."

"Nah, just realistic."

"That's fine, Shiro. I'll pay." Keith said and took his wallet out. 

"No, no, don't worry. I'll pay." He put his hand on Keith's to stop him. 

"No, no way. You can't do this to me twice."

"Yes I can, and that's exactly what I'm doing. I'll pay."

"No. I will."

"Half-half?"

"You work here!" 

"Oh for fuck sakes! Forget it. Forget I said anything. You guys are the worst. Just go away before Allura fires us both!" Pidge groaned impatiently, and practically ran away into the bar once more. 

Keith and Shiro looked at each other and laughed. They took their time, but before too long, they did as she asked and made their way out. As they stumbled on their feet, they bumped into each other every few steps, until eventually they had to cling on each other in order to stop. 

"Ugh… I'll have to wait for the night line…" Keith groaned. A cab would cost too much, even when he didn't pay for dinner.

"Hey, uh… I live not far away from here. You can stay at my place. If you want." Shiro suggested. 

"Really?" the other murmured. 

"Yeah, sure. I have an extra bed cause my roommate's out of town. Don't worry, I'll be a complete gentleman."

Keith couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. "And now?" 

"Mm?" 

"Will you be a complete gentleman now?" 

"Well I mean I don't see how I d-" 

Before the sentence was completed, a pair of full, pink lips landed on the clean-shaven cheek. Shiro lost his words as he listened to the loud, wet sound, and his ears were painted in the same red as the rest of his face was. 

"Thank you, Shiro. I'm glad I met you today."

"M-me too."

"D'you want… d'you wanna go out with me? On another date… tomorrow?" 

"Yes."

"And the day after?" 

"Yes please. Every day. Any day. Whenever you want."

"Good… good."

"Good?" 

"Yes. The best. You're the best, Shiro."

Shiro chuckled. "You'd don't know that… remember? You don't know me. We only met a few hours ago."

"Maybe. But that's the point, right? To get to know each other… to open up. I can do that… but only if you can do that too."

"Okay."

Keith's smile grew. He might be completely drunk, and it might be four in the morning, but now he finally knew - it's worth the risk. His heart was empty for far too long. If it doesn't work, at least he would be able to say that he tried. 

The chilly wind made Shiro cradle him closer, and Keith found himself leaning in. 

And that wasn't a bad start at all. 


End file.
